1744 Harris Map of Beijing or Peking, China

Uncommon early European map of Beijing or Peking China.

An uncommon and appealing 1744 map of Beijing or Peking, China. The map features two maps of Beijing both drawn to scale. The larger upper map illustrates 'New Peking' c. 1700 while the smaller map shows ancient Beijing. Both maps feature numerous numbered and/or lettered sites corresponding to a key in the lower quadrants. The key identifies such sites as the 'Portal of Heaven,' the 'Hall Thrice Exalted,' the 'House which received Heaven,' and many others. The map was mostly likely engraved by Bowen to illustrate John Campbell's 1744 posthumous publication of John Harris' collection of Collection of Voyages and Travels. The engraved map offered here is most likely the work of Emmanuel Bowen, who produced most of the maps of Harris' work.

Cartographers

John Harris (c. 1666 – 7 September 1719) was an English writer, scientist, and Anglican priest. He is best known as the editor of the Lexicon Technicum: Or, A Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1704), the earliest of English encyclopedias; as the compiler of the Collection of Voyages and Travels, published posthumously under his name by John Campbell; and as the author of an unfinished county history of Kent. Harris was born in Shropshire England and studied at Trinity College, Oxford. In 1696 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, of which he briefly served as vice-president. He unfortunately died in poverty due to fiscal mismanagement.   Further Details...

Emanuel Bowen (1694 - May 8, 1767) was a Welsh cartographer, map engraver, and publisher active in London during the first half and middle of the 18th century. Born at Talley, Carmarthenshire, he was apprenticed in 1709 to the London engraver and globe-maker Charles Price, beginning a career that combined the compilation of geographical information with copperplate engraving for booksellers and map publishers. His early work included maps for an Atlas of the World issued in 1717, followed by Britannia Depicta; or, Ogilby Improv'd (1720), prepared with John Owen, which brought together reduced road-strip maps, county maps, and historical and heraldic information in a portable volume. In 1729, Bowen published a subscription-funded map of South Wales, substantially improving the region's cartographic representation; the map's geographical information subsequently informed his Welsh county maps. After working at several London addresses, he established workshops in Aldersgate, Smithfield, and Clerkenwell, producing maps extensively for other publishers rather than relying on a prominent retail shop. His international cartography included maps for A Complete System of Geography (1744 - 1747), the 1744-48 edition of Navigantium atque itinerantium bibliotheca, and A Complete Atlas (1752). He became geographer to George II around 1747. Among his apprentices were Thomas Kitchin (1719 - 1784), who married Bowen's daughter Sarah in 1739, and Thomas Jefferys (1719 - 1771), apprenticed in 1735. With Kitchin, Bowen produced the county maps issued between 1749 and 1760 that formed The Large English Atlas; their collaboration continued in The Royal English Atlas around 1763. His maps characteristically combined detailed geographical engraving and ornamental cartouches with extensive historical, economic, and topographical annotations. Despite his substantial output and royal appointment, Bowen died in reduced circumstances in 1767. His son and fellow engraver, Thomas Bowen (d. 1790), continued his cartographic work, including Atlas Anglicanus (1767 - 1768), which was completed and issued after Emanuel's death.   Further Details...

Source

Harris, J., Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca, or Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels (London) 1744.    

Condition

Very good. Blank on verso. Platemark.